The northern Mexican city of Monterrey, known as the industrial and business capital of Mexico, witnessed a gruesome scene on Tuesday as the mutilated remains of up to a dozen people were discovered scattered across various locations. Messages accompanying the remains indicated that the victims might have been part of an internal purge within a gang.
Monterrey, a significant seat for numerous large companies, has been chosen by Tesla for the establishment of a massive car factory, slated to open in 2024. This incident of violence comes after a period of relative calm, following intense clashes between drug cartels vying for control of the city in the early 2010s. These cartels often engaged in public displays of brutality, hanging bodies from bridges or leaving dismembered body parts with warning signs to intimidate rivals.
Local reports suggest that signs found next to the recently discovered remains pointed to attempts to infiltrate a cartel, with the messages being signed by the Cartel del Noreste (Northeast Cartel). While police have not confirmed the authenticity of these messages, they suspect a cartel from the neighboring Tamaulipas state to be responsible for the macabre act.
The Northeast Cartel, originating from the Zetas crime syndicate and based in Tamaulipas, has been under scrutiny since the arrest and deportation to the United States of its leader, Juan Gerardo Treviño Chávez, in March 2022. Following his arrest, there have been apparent attempts by rival gangs to infiltrate the organization.
Beyond drug trafficking, the Northeast Cartel is notorious for terrorizing migrants in Nuevo Laredo and Tamaulipas state, kidnapping those en route to the United States and extorting large sums of money from their families for their release.